I use TotalTerminal (http://totalterminal.binaryage.com/ http://totalterminal.binaryage.com/) and have it set up to show up on the bottom 1/3 of my screen with

I use TotalTerminal (http://totalterminal.binaryage.com/ http://totalterminal.binaryage.com/) and have it set up to show up on the bottom 1/3 of my screen with a transparent background when I hit the "Eject" key that I never use for anything else. As far as I can tell, I also have colors and split panes, though I rarely use them.